Putter improvement

ABSTRACT

A putter head comprised of three parts, a body which is cast from zinc alloy and includes a front vertical portion and rearwardly extending fins and extending from above the body a stem to which a socket is attached to which a golf shaft is affixed, and secured to a front of the body is a plate which is copper having a substantially uniform thickness which is within the range of from ⅛ to ⅜ and which has been cut from commercially supplied copper plate.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This invention relates to putters and in particular to a methodof manufacture of putters and to putters per se.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In one form of this invention, although this need not necessarilybe the only or indeed the broadest form of this, there is proposed aputter head which has an impact face which is a plate comprised ofcopper.

[0003] In preference, the copper is commercially available copper baruseful for applications such as bus bars.

[0004] In preference, the plate extends fully across the impact face ofa head.

[0005] In preference, the plate extends fully across the front face ofthe head.

[0006] In preference, the plate is of substantially constant thicknessthrough at least most of its body and this thickness is within the rangeof from one eighth to three eights of an inch thick.

[0007] In preference, the plate is secured to a body portion providing aremainder of the putter head and to which there is either attached orintegrally formed, a shaft holding portion.

[0008] In preference, the face of the copper plate forming the impactsurface is scored with crossing grooves.

[0009] In preference, the alignment of a centre of gravity of the plateis approximately aligned so that an axial direction of the shaft willco-incide with the centre of gravity.

[0010] In preference, a front impact face provided by the plate providesa planar surface which is planar to a higher degree of accuracy.

[0011] In preference, a remainder of the body of the putter is comprisedof a metal other than copper.

[0012] In preference, there is provided a putter including a head ofunitary construction to which there is adhered to a front face a platecomprised of copper.

[0013] It is currently known to manufacture putters by casting thesefrom an appropriate non-corrosive material such as a zinc alloy.

[0014] The problem with conventional casting techniques is that it isvery difficult and therefore expensive to provide a front impact facewhich is planar to a higher degree of accuracy.

[0015] A discovery of this invention is that, commercially availablecopper bars are manufactured in large quantities for other applicationsbut incidentally have very accurately aligned sides and, in particular,provide a planar surface which is planar to a very high degree ofaccuracy.

[0016] In the game of golf, when a putter is used to hit a golf ball,given the spherical shape of the golf ball, and the relatively lightcontact effected between a putter and that ball, the specific locationof impact will have an effective influence upon the direction that thegolf ball will then travel.

[0017] If this, even in a very slight form, is inaccurate, then there issubstantial disadvantage caused to the person using the putter.

[0018] In other words, relatively minor imperfections and inaccuraciesin connection with alignment of a front face and the degree of accuracyof the planar shape, can be important in the use of the putter.

[0019] Further, however, copper I have found provides a softer surfaceto effect impact against a golf ball than, for instance, a surfaceprovided by a zinc alloy while still, to a very large extent, providingpredictable resiliency.

[0020] Further, by adding the substantial weight of a bar of copper onthe front of a putter head and providing that this bar has a thicknesswithin the range as stated, namely of one eight to three eights of aninch, means that there is provided an internal resiliency which is foundto be very beneficial when being used to hit a golf ball.

[0021] This then proposes a different solution than say including a softplastic insert into the front impact face of a putter which then willcause some energy absorption when being hit against a ball and perhaps,more seriously, greater difficulty in predicting a hitting result wherethe ball may not be exactly hit against a substantially exact middle ofthe putter.

[0022] If a plastic insert has a width of perhaps only an inch or aninch and a half, then a slight deviation with a somewhat lighter anddifferently balanced putter will give a different result

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The invention will now be better understood when described withreference to an embodiment which shall be described with the assistanceof drawings wherein:

[0024]FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a putter according to theembodiment along the lines 1-1 as shown in FIG. 2;

[0025]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same embodiment as in FIG. 1;

[0026]FIG. 3 is an end view of the same embodiment as in FIGS. 1 and 2;

[0027]FIG. 4 is a plan view of the putter head in plan;

[0028]FIG. 5 is a side view in elevation and;

[0029]FIG. 6 illustrates the putter when being used in conjunction witha golfer;

[0030]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment in which theface is finished off with vertical slots and;

[0031]FIG. 8 is a further view of the second embodiment viewed in plan.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0032] Referring in detail to the drawings, the putter head 1 iscomprised of three parts, a body 2 which is cast from zinc alloy andincludes a front vertical portion 3 and rearwardly extending fins 4.

[0033] Extending from above the body 2 is a stem 5 to which a socket 6is attached to which a golf shaft 7 is affixed.

[0034] Secured to a front of the body 2 is a plate 8 which copper andwhich has been cut from commercially supplied copper plate.

[0035] Such copper plate as is currently available, has been shown toexhibit a very high degree of accuracy of its relative planar surfacesand is, in particular, the broader surfaces.

[0036] In this embodiment, plate of the thickness of one quarter of aninch is selected and cut into a form that matches the perimeter of thevertical portion 3 of the body 2.

[0037] Such a plate 8 is then machined so as to have a plurality ofscore lines passing across its face and the plate is then adhered to theformerly cast body 2 by an appropriate fastening means, in this caseepoxy resin.

[0038] By adding such a plate to the front of an existing putter head,has been found to provide significant advantages in the capture andaccuracy obtainable from a putter.

[0039] This, it is believed, is assisted by the somewhat higher specificgravity of copper and to maintain the balance of the putter, thealignment of the copper plate is such that a centre of gravity of theplate portion approximately coincides with an axis of the shaft 7.

[0040] This is generally shown in FIG. 5 in which the axis is shown at 9and an estimate of the centre of gravity of the plate is shown at 10,the closeness in this case is approximately one quarter of an inch andthis is regarded as adequate in the application.

[0041] In each of the embodiments shown there is also a feature that alowermost surface and a front lower edge is tapered by being rounded asis shown at 11. This is to ensure that there is an absence of a sharpbottom edge which may otherwise catch a surface of a green when beingused and also to effect a skid action if contact is made with the greenrather than being caught. It is relevant that a hitting surface of theplate that offers a planar surface can therefore start above a lowermostedge and still provide an excellent result for a user.

[0042] Now referring to the second embodiment as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8this shows a different face configuration where there is still theplanar characteristic gained from using copper bar. The putter in thiscase is therefore the same with a body 12. The body 12 is cast from zincalloy and includes a front vertical portion 13 and rearwardly extendingfins 14.

[0043] Extending from above the body 12 is a stem 15 to which a socket16 is attached to which a golf shaft 17 is affixed.

[0044] Secured to a front of the body 12 is a plate 18 which copper andwhich has been cut from commercially supplied copper plate. Thelowermost edge is rounded to assist in skidding the head when hittingthe surface of a green. Characteristic of the face in this case is thefact that there are a plurality of grooves 19 each spaced apart an equaldistance and each aligned vertically when the head is in its normalputting position. The alignment of the grooves helps to effectengagement of a golf ball.

[0045] This then describes both a putter and, in particular, a modifiedputter head and a method of manufacture which have shown to be ofsignificant advantage both in the manufacture of these devices and aputter that can be manufactured somewhat more economically than has beenhitherto been the case given a selected high degree of accuracy of thefront planar face.

1 A putter head which has an impact face which is a plate comprised ofcopper. 2 A putter head as in claim 1 further characterized in that theplate extends fully across the impact face of a head. 3 A putter head asin claim 1 further characterized in that the plate is of substantiallyconstant thickness through at least most of its body and this thicknessis within the range of from one eighth to three eights of an inch thick4 A putter head as in claim 1 further characterized in that the plate isof substantially constant thickness through at least most of its bodyand this thickness is approximately ¼ of an inch. 5 A putter head as inclaim 1 further characterized in that the plate is of substantiallyconstant thickness of ¼ of an inch throughout its body 6 A putter headas in claim 1 further characterized in that the plate is secured to abody portion providing a remainder of the putter head and to which thereis either attached or integrally formed, a shaft holding portion. 7 Aputter head as in claim 1 further characterized in that the face of theproviding an impact surface is scored with crossing grooves. 8 A putterhead as in any one of the preceding claims further characterized in thatthe alignment of a centre of gravity of the plate is approximatelyaligned so that an axial direction of the shaft will substantiallycoincide with the said centre of gravity. 9 A putter head as in claim 1further characterized in that a front impact face provided by the plateprovides a planar surface which is planar to a high degree of tolerancewhich is within the range of from plus or minus one thousandths of aninch. 10 A putter head as in any one of the preceding claims furthercharacterized in that the body of the putter is comprised of a metalother than copper in parts other than at a face. 11 A putter including ahead of unitary construction to which there is adhered to a front face aplate comprised of copper. 12 A putter head as in any one of thepreceding claims further characterized in that the copper ismanufactured from commercially available copper bar where a front faceis the face as originally provided by the copper bar. 13 A putter headas in any one of the preceding claims further characterized in that alowermost front edge is rounded. 14 A putter head as in any one of thepreceding claims further characterized in that a lowermost surface is ofconcave shape when viewed from a side. 15 A putter having a head as inany one of the preceding claims. 16 A putter head comprised of threeparts, a body which is cast from zinc alloy and includes a frontvertical portion and rearwardly extending fins and extending from abovethe body a stem to which a socket is attached to which a golf shaft isaffixed, and secured to a front of the body is a plate which is copperhaving a substantially uniform thickness which is within the range offrom ⅛ to ⅜ and which has been cut from commercially supplied copperplate. 17 A putter substantially as described in the specification withreference to and as illustrated by the accompanying illustrations.